Paranauphoeta formosona help, please?

boina

Lady of the mites
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Mar 25, 2015
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At a local spider/reptile expo I bought a pair of P. formosana on a whim. I've never had roaches except Dubia, so I'm not too sure how to keep them. I did what the breeder said:
- moist substrate (coco fiber substrate)
- leaf litter on top of that
- a few pieces of bark for hiding
- seeded some springtails in there

Food:
like most roaches: everything.
Today they got fish flakes, bran flakes, and cucumber. They'll get whatever fruit/veggie I've handy and fish flakes or cat food.

Heat: In winter (now) they'll have to share the heating pad with the dubias (they are like 5 cm / 2" above the heating pad - temps are in the low 80s at one end and lower at the other where the heating pad isn't). In summer the room is in the low 80s without help.

Light: Indirect light from a window (they are in a glass terrarium with ventilation front and top)

Have I missed something?

Edit: yikes, I spelled the thread name wrong... it's formosana, of course
 

Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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I have Paranauphoeta discoidalis, and they are fairly easy to keep, but slow breeders. They like a moist substrate, leaf litter is not necessary but it never hurts, they do really like bark hides, and it should be in the upper 70s to the 80s for good reproduction, be careful when using a heat mat though, since they can dry out the substrate fast.

They also seem to really prefer fruits to grains and veggies BTW, so I'd make sure they always have some sort of fruit available. They have about half a dozen nymphs per litter, in my experience with P.discoidalis, one female can produce 20-25 nymphs in her lifespan.

Good luck breeding them, they are a species that is high up on my wish list, hope they do well for you! :)
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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Thank you!! :) :) :) I'll make sure to give them fruit - I still have some grapes, so they can have them for today. I'll even peel them to make sure they don't get any pesticides.
And yes, I know the problems with the heat mat - that's why there is 5 cm of air between the mat and the enclosure. I'll make sure to check the moisture level, though.
 

Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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Thank you!! :) :) :) I'll make sure to give them fruit - I still have some grapes, so they can have them for today. I'll even peel them to make sure they don't get any pesticides.
And yes, I know the problems with the heat mat - that's why there is 5 cm of air between the mat and the enclosure. I'll make sure to check the moisture level, though.
No problem, happy to help! :)

Good, hopefully they shouldn't dry out too fast then.
 

Stugy

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Apr 21, 2016
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Check this out, apparently this breeder in Asia has started keeping P.basalis, I would LOVE to have some of those, even more so than P.formosana. :astonished:
lol I bet he's like 1 of 10 people in all of Japan to collect roaches xD Fish are inexpensive but insects and arachnids will make your wallet have nothing in an instant. But it's always worth it! xD
 

KevinsWither

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lol I bet he's like 1 of 10 people in all of Japan to collect roaches xD Fish are inexpensive but insects and arachnids will make your wallet have nothing in an instant. But it's always worth it! xD
Don't forget that these people breed and collect giant beetles too. Smh looking at a few for fun, a Hercules beetle was like 300 dollars.
 

BobBarley

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Sep 16, 2015
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Hercules beetle was like 300 dollars.
Sure it was USD? I visit Taiwan frequently and $300 USD is a little over IMO (depending on species). I could literally get an Allomyrina dichotomus for around $3 USD in Taiwan.
 

Hisserdude

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lol I bet he's like 1 of 10 people in all of Japan to collect roaches xD Fish are inexpensive but insects and arachnids will make your wallet have nothing in an instant. But it's always worth it! xD
Yeah, most people there who keep invertebrates are interested in beetles, but there are still quite a few roach breeders there too, they have a good diversity of interesting roach species. :)
 

Stugy

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I always bought stag beetles every summer in Japan :p normally about 2k yen (about $20). fun times... I once bought a 5k yen male and he was the best fighter ever xD Used to have beetle fight with my neighbors and mine always won. (but let's get back to the roaches peeps ;))
 

KevinsWither

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Messages
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Sure it was USD? I visit Taiwan frequently and $300 USD is a little over IMO (depending on species). I could literally get an Allomyrina dichotomus for around $3 USD in Taiwan.
Anyways thats what I checked on monsterbeetlesshop and kingdom of beetle taiwan. Wait wrong price it was like 350 online for an adult pair I believe of megasoma.

Now I always wanted to raise them rhinoceros roaches, but they cost 250 USD and thats a little over.
 

Hisserdude

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Now I always wanted to raise them rhinoceros roaches, but they cost 250 USD and thats a little over.
Well $250 is a great price for a pair of that species, considering their extremely slow growth and reproduction rates...
 

Matus

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Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
7
At a local spider/reptile expo I bought a pair of P. formosana on a whim. I've never had roaches except Dubia, so I'm not too sure how to keep them. I did what the breeder said:
- moist substrate (coco fiber substrate)
- leaf litter on top of that
- a few pieces of bark for hiding
- seeded some springtails in there

Food:
like most roaches: everything.
Today they got fish flakes, bran flakes, and cucumber. They'll get whatever fruit/veggie I've handy and fish flakes or cat food.

Heat: In winter (now) they'll have to share the heating pad with the dubias (they are like 5 cm / 2" above the heating pad - temps are in the low 80s at one end and lower at the other where the heating pad isn't). In summer the room is in the low 80s without help.

Light: Indirect light from a window (they are in a glass terrarium with ventilation front and top)

Have I missed something?

Edit: yikes, I spelled the thread name wrong... it's formosana, of course
I keep my P.formosana almost completly dry and in about a year they reproduced from the count of 10 to hundreds of them.
 
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